The Other Victor
by Madii Bradshaw
Summary: What if Haymitch wasn't the only Mentor to Katniss and Peeta? What if a girl won five years after him out of pure luck? What if, over a course of many years, Haymitch and said victor fell in love? This is the story of Madigan, the 55th Hunger Games Victor
1. Chapter 1 Reaping Day

Chapter One- Reaping Day

Walking to the Reaping, holding one of my brother's hands, I dropped him off with my father. My mother died about two years ago, so now it's only me and my dad. He does the best he can, but it's really up to me to keep the household going. I have four brothers, Ryan, Jesse, Avery, and Abercrombie. Avery and Abercrombie are old enough for the Hunger Games and Jesse starts next year. This year is my last year, and that means that the tesserae leaves me and goes to them. It's my worst nightmare, them having to go to the games. I've seen what it has done to our only victor, Haymitch Abernathy. I'll die before that happens them.

This is Avery's first year, and he's scared to death. It took both Abercrombie and I to calm down. That's what most of the first years are like. I won't make fun of him later, though. It would be too harsh. It's a natural thing to be scared about.

I go to the girls' side and look for the other girls my age. "Madigan!" I hear someone call my name. I look and see my friend from the town, Arial. She's beautiful. Blonde hair and blue eyes, like the rest of the town population. I don't know how we started hanging out; the people from the Seam and the people from the town don't usually mix. And believe me, I am a poster child for the Seam. I have the grey eyes, the black hair, and the olive colored skin. It's actually darker than most people's.

"Hey!" I say and squeeze through people to stand by her.

"Hey! I saw Avery, is he going to be okay?" She asks. She's really just one of those precious girls, Arial. She really cares, and it's not in the snotty way some town people can be.

"Yeah, yeah, he's going to be fine."

"Madigan…" she whispered, "How many slips do you have in this year?" I don't even know why she started whispering. Everyone from the Seam gets tesserae. But like I said, she's precious.

"Oh, I think about twenty, I don't really know," It's actually about thirty, but I don't want her to know that. She's also the type of person you sugar-coat things for.

"Oh my word, I'm so sorry, Madi,"

"Don't worry about it, Arial, there are other people who have it worse," I whisper that part. Some people can get pretty defensive.

Arial and I sit through the whole speech by the mayor with sudden bobs of heads to reassure us to get up. Then it's time for the Reaping.

"Ladies first!" A cheery Capitol voice thunders. There's a few seconds before she calls a name out, "Madigan Forrester!"

I look at Arial, and she already has tears in her eyes, "Oh, my gosh," she whispers and stands up. I stood up after her, and she hugged me. I could feel her tears on my shoulder. I gently pushed her off and then started walking to the stage. I walked up the stairs, and made eye contact with Mr. Abernathy. He had that same blank, hazy look from alcohol he always has on his face. I smile at him and genuinely mean it. I would be messed up if I was him, too. Then I look at District 12's new escort. I think her name is Quarter, or something weird like that. I smile at her too, even though it kills me.

Now it's time for the boy tribute. "Jared Worthy!" I recognize Jared, and I'm pretty sure he's in the same grade as Avery, which makes him only 12. Jeez.

"Ladies and gentlemen, your 55th Hunger Games' tributes!" Quarter still has her cheery voice on. I'm starting to see things from a new perspective now. I always found people like her despicable, but now it's just crazy. Now she is terrible. Now she is disgusting. Now, she's talking about me in that terrible, sour-sweet voice.

People clap for us, mostly out of sympathy, and then we go to the Justice building. All of my family comes in first. Avery is freaking out, Ryan has no idea what's going on, Jesse is freaking out because Avery's freaking out, and Abercrombie and my dad just look dumb-struck. They all hug and kiss me, and say good-bye. Except my father. I honestly think he has no idea what to do. He stares at me for the whole time, until he has to leave and then gives me a tender pat on my shoulder. I don't blame him for his reaction. The only living responsible person in the household is now going to die.

I hope he doesn't break like he did when my mother died. Because now he has to take care of four boys all on his own. The Peacekeepers come in and practically have to rip Avery off of me. I make a promise to him that I'll come back home soon, but I know I won't be able to keep that promise.

Then Arial comes in. And she just hugs me for a couple of minutes and cries. I don't. I can't. Not because I want people to think I'm strong, but I literally can't cry. Arial leaves and a couple of my friends from the Seam come. This is more like it. The boys start making witty comments, and I laugh. I make sure I savor this moment. For all I know, this will be the last time that I laugh. I see that Elly and Nicolette have tears in their eyes, but they don't cry. Probably because they don't want me to feel uncomfortable. I thank them in my head, and home they get the message.

Then I have to go for real. Peacekeepers lead me on the train, and I slowly watch my home get smaller and smaller as the train pulls out of the station.

I turn around and find Quarter. She scares me with her unnatural smile. I slip a swear word for the first time, and don't feel bad about it. "Time for dinner!" My word, I'm going to kill that lady.

**A/N So that was the first chapter! Yay! I really like this story(: I hope you do too! Review!**

**Tridents and Sexy District 4 Men :D, Madii **


	2. Chapter 2 To the Capitol!

Chapter Two- To the Capitol!

Dinner was not what I expected. There were mountains of food, anything you could possibly want! Jared looks like he's about to pass out from how much food he's shoveling in his little mouth. I try a different approach. I try to be a lady. Sitting straight up with excellent posture, and using a fork properly. I remember when my mother would try to teach me how important it was to be a lady. I was too young then, just wanting to play outside with my friends. Now I wish I would have listened.

Dinner was silent as well. Jared and I didn't talk unless Quarter asked us a question. Mr. Abernathy only drank.

"So, Madigan, do you have brothers or sisters?" Quarter asked me once. I'm starting to feel bad for her. She has to do this every year. Small talk with tributes, and then watch them die. People are probably mean to her, I think.

"I have four brothers," I respond. Mr. Abernathy makes what I think to be a chuckling noise but then he chokes on his wine. I ignore it, "You're actually friends with Avery, aren't you, Jared?" When I mention Avery, Jared's face lights up, but then he remembers where he is and his eyes get scared again. He nods and then continues to eat.

"Four brothers? I bet your mother has a busy day!" Quarter continues.

"She actually died a couple of years ago," I respond and Mr. Abernathy makes that chuckling noise again, except this time he doesn't choke on his drink and he continues to laugh so much he bangs on the table a couple of times.

"Just shut the hell up!" he tells Quarter. I'm actually appalled with his behavior now. I didn't think he was this bad. I only thought he was a drunk, but now I now that he's rude and just plain mean. I can tell I have an appalled look on my face because Mr. Abernathy looks at me and then laughs some more.

"Hey!" He says all of a sudden while looking at me, "I know you!" And points at me. He… knows me? I've seen him before, yes, but it was never anything special. I always smiled at him when he passed by (which wasn't that much) and I think I sang him a song once or twice when I was younger. "You sing, don't you?" He asked.

I finish sipping my water and nod, "I used to, years ago. But then I had to sell my guitar and get a real job. I clean clothes now."

Now it's Quarter's turn to look appalled, "But what about school, dear?"

"Oh, I go to school," I reply, "But I had to get a job to help my dad."

I look back at Mr. Abernathy and he's still looking at me, "It's a shame…" he said in a softer tone, "You had a pretty voice." Then he goes back to drinking.

After dinner, I go to my room and wonder what to do. Quarter told me that we'd be at the Capitol late at night, so it might be best if I got some sleep. I look at the bed and see how beautiful it is. When I look at it for a second more, I see myself dead on it. I gasp in shock and know that I'm not going to be able to sleep in that bed. I look at myself in the mirror to reassure myself that I am still alive.

I'm wearing a light green dress that used to be my mother's, and I'm also wearing her simple leather sandals as well. I look in the closet and see that an outfit is waiting for me. It's a simple outfit, consisting of a pair of khaki pants and a white tee shirt. I take off my dress and put on the clothes. I lay my mother's dress on the bed, and for some reason, I smell it. I breathe in the aroma of home. Of my mother. She always used to wear this dress. When I was young, I would go running to her after school, and my mother would always be there; wearing that green dress with the halter top.

I wish I could go back to that moment, and live it over and over again. How I would tell her I love her one last time, how I would hug her, kiss her.

I put those memories in the back of my head and move on. All I hope is that she's watching down on me right now, and she knows what I'm thinking. I shove my hair in a ponytail and sit on the floor until a cheery knock wakes me up.

"We're at the Capitol!" Quarter exclaims while I try to remember where the hell I am.

I yawn, push myself off the ground, and wonder how long I was out. Quarter, Mr. Abernathy, Jared, and I step out of the train and suddenly, I am in awe.

Lights are everywhere and colors flood my eyes and I notice how truly beautiful the Capitol is. People are everywhere, making hand gestures and talking in that silly accent of theirs. They're all wearing silly clothes and funny makeup so they almost look ridiculous. But now I see why they have to dress like this, they have to keep up with their ever changing city. Then suddenly, something my mother told me once comes to mind, "Don't judge a book by its cover," Even though the Capitol is so beautiful, it still feels the need to kill 23 children a year, willingly. It's not beautiful. The Capitol is a dirty, terrible, filthy book disguised by an extravagant cover.

**A/N: Uh… Oh! I wanted to say something that would bug me if I were you, readers! The reason why Madigan is calling Haymitch, 'Mr. Abernathy' is because she was raised in a very nice household where her mother taught her how to be a lady, and where her father taught her to be respectful. Even though Haymitch is Haymitch, he is a survivor, and Madigan finds that to be a very respectable trait, so she calls him by his formal name. I can't really think of a way to skillfully put that in the story, so I decided to just plain out tell ya'll. Don't worry, though, soon enough they'll be on first name basis(:**

**Bears, Beets Battle Star Gallactica, Madii**


	3. Chapter 3 The Opening Ceremonies

**A/N: I reread the book and realized that Peeta and Katniss ended up at the Capitol way before our dear Madigan. But, whatever. This isn't called a FanFic for nothing. And this all belongs to Suzanne Collins! I'm just a mere blip in the Hunger Games world!**

Chapter Three- The Opening Ceremonies

Tonight's the opening ceremonies. I'm with my makeup team and they're doing everything they can to de-humanize me. As they're ripping the hair out of my legs, I remember something my mom told me. She told me that back way before she was born, people, mainly girls, would shave their legs so they wouldn't be hairy. I used to think it was odd, but now I realize that women here in the Capitol must shave too.

One of the girls who was working on me lowers her face so we're face to face. She has blonde hair that looks so unnatural. I think she was trying to look like the pretty Town people, but it went wrong. Also, it was not complementary to her tan. It's almost orange and it's so electrifying I want to look away, but I just _can't!_

"You guys always have grey eyes!" She remarks, even though it sounds more like a whine. I shrug, but don't say anything. "I guess they could be kind of pretty if we put gold shadow on…" She continues to say while touching my eyelids.

"Well her eyes are going to be so much easier than her hair!" A man (I think who is a man) exclaims while almost pulling my hair out of my scalp. "Split ends all the way to her roots!"

"And the black hair! Always black!" Blondie remarks. The other girl is small and mousy and I haven't heard her talk once. The man that commented on my hair then grabs a pair of tweezers and starts to pluck any random pieces of hairs he sees. I plucks, and I flinch.

He notices I'm in pain and then laughs, "Don't worry, dear, we're almost done. Then Jaxith will come to see you!" I'm guessing Jaxith is my stylist. I smile and nod and pretend I give a damn.

Speak of the devil, my door opens and a man walks in. I am almost taken aback by his appearance. If it wasn't for his stubble, I would have had a very hard him knowing he was a man. Jaxith was wearing bright, tight pants with an electrifying yellow shirt. He wore a bright neon blue blazer over his shirt and that's when I notice his hair. It's long and touches his shoulders and it's _so_ curly. It's blonde, like the girl's (I'm pretty sure her name is Clemence), but then I notice that under the blonde, there's a brown color. I look at him for a couple of seconds, he realizes that I'm too distracted to say hello, so he does.

"Magadon!" He exclaims and gives me a kiss on the cheek.

"It's Madigan…" I correct him while reluctantly accepting his kiss.

"Of course it is!" He responds, but I'm pretty sure he could give a rat's ass what my name was. "I am _so _excited to be your stylist!" He exclaims and claps his hands which have a lovely color of purple on the nails.

"Clemence, Maralah, Knox, you did wonderful with her." He says and walks around me. "Did you do anything to her breasts?" He asks, and I'm shocked when he grabs them.

"No, we didn't," Knox, the boy, replied looking at them as well.

"They're gorgeous. We haven't had a pair like this for a while, huh?" he continues to touch my… well… and I feel even more uncomfortable. "Shame we couldn't see those on the television, huh? I would've planned something _much_ different. Well… it's not that late, is it? I'm pretty sure we could put something together…" Then Jaxith walks out of the room.

"You are going to look amazing, Magadon!" Clemence cries. Apparently now that I got the blessing from Jaxith, I'm semi-decent now. I don't even bother to correct her on my name.

A couple of minutes later, Jaxith comes back; armed with a black pair of panties, a black bra, and a miners helmet. He squeals with joy, "You are going to be sexy!" Then, quick as a flash, he rips of my clothes only to be replaced with underwear.

I look at myself in the mirror and see that not only are the panties and bra black, they also have a metallic thing going on. "Her ta-tas look like pieces of coal!" Knox exclaims, making the connection between District 12 and my breasts. He obviously can't resist them, so he has to give one a little squeeze.

Jaxith smiles full of pride and says, "That's exactly what I was going for. Keep her hair black, it will look more sexy." Are his final words of advice before he leaves the room once again.

The team then proceeds to my makeup and my hair. Clemence works on my eyes while Maralah and Knox start to curl my hair.

When they are done, they finally let me look in the mirror. "Wait!" Maralah squeals for the first time. She sounds like a mouse too, "Before you look you have to put on your shoes!" Knox and Clemence nod in agreement. Then she hands me tall boots with at least 5 inch heels. They go all the way up to my knee and it takes all three of them to lace them. Then I finally look in the mirror.

Holy crap, who is this girl? I first focus on my head. My hair is huge and curly and stuffed on top of it is a miner's helmet. Now to my face: Over my eyes I see sparkly, glittery, metallically gold eye shadow. The eyeliner goes beyond my eye and makes an intricate loop by my temples. Clemence was right about the eye shadow, though. It does bring out my grey eyes and almost makes them look like a shiny silver instead of a dull grey. My lips are a bright red and I move down to my 'top.' Well… I wouldn't complain about them… But then again my brothers would be seeing this, and that's kind of creepy. My abdomen, as well as any other uncovered part of my body, is glistening because of this lotion that Maralah put on me.

My panties look like panties and then I see those darned boots. Whoa. These sure are a pair of boots, aren't they? I have to admit though, they elongate my legs. But I really don't like the laces. It's just a little too much. My nails are also painted a gold color with specks of glitter in them. I have to declare… I'm pretty darn sexy! Although I wouldn't mind a little more clothes…

Jaxith walks in while I'm looking at myself and he puts a hand on his heart and pretends to pass out. All three members of my team laugh at his humor.

"Absolutely… amazing. I did a wonderful job," he praises himself. Wait, what? He just had to pick out a pair of panties! I don't say anything, though, and then he continues, "Well, time's a'ticking! We have to get going, Ms. Sexy Thang!" Then he grabs me by the arm and practically drags me out of the room. I'm well over Jaxith's height now and I trip over these blasted heels about five times before we get to where we were supposed to meet everyone else.

Apparently time's not 'a'ticking' because Jaxith and I are the only ones here.

Then, soon enough, Jared and his stylist (who has what looks like to be lights in her hair…) walk out. Poor Jared, I think. His stylist, like mine got the idea that less is more and now he's only wearing a pair of black, metallic tightie whities. Along with a miner's hat, of course. We wouldn't want people to think we go run around like this in District 12. We only look like this when we're playing miners. The only bad thing is that Jared isn't fully grown, so instead of the 'sexy' look that I _obviously _have, he just looks like a scrawny boy wearing underpants.

"Fennella!" Jaxith exclaims, "You got a good one this year!" Motioning to Jared, then he walks up to him and touches his face. Jared recoils a little, but he eventually stops, "Look at his complexion!"

"Yes, he's all right…" then she walks up to me and, like everyone else today, feels the need to touch my breasts.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of groping, Mr. Abernathy and Quarter show up. I get instant reactions from both of them.

"Trying something new this year, are you?" Quarter asks and I get what she means. For the last couple of years, all of our tributes seemed to be wearing skin-tight coal miner outfits. But then again, it's amazing what a pair of perfect breasts can inspire in a person.

We all pile into the elevator and I am smushed between Mr. Abernathy and Jaxith. I don't like this elevator. Especially with all of these people. For some reason it reminds me of the mines at home, and I don't like the mines at all.

"Oh!" Jaxith exclaims and pulls something out from his pocket. It's that lotion that Maralah slavered me up with. "It looks like… someone missed a spot," he says and then proceeds to put more lotion right on my right breast. Haymitch looks down at me; he's the only person taller than me because of the boots, and chuckles. I can practically smell the alcohol on his breath. I never liked alcohol very much. I tried some of my dad's once. After my mom died he said it 'helped' him. I just thought it burned.

Quarter leads us to our chariot, and then points to where she and everyone else will be. I make eye contact with Jaxith and he gives me a weird looking smile, then I realize he's telling me to smile, so I do. Because who can't _wait_ to die in the Hunger Games?

After what seems like forever, we finally start moving and we're on our 20 minute journey to the center of the Capitol. Of course when we're there, Districts 1, 2, and 4 get the most cheers. The tributes from District 4 are absolutely beautiful. The girl is wearing a light, flowy, shimmering light pink dress and her natural curly, bronze hair is put into a side pony tail. She strongly resembles a mermaid.

Finally it's Jared's and my turn. People still cheer and clap for us, I but I can tell that they're tired now and want this to end so they can watch the recaps coming up soon. I don't blame them, though. Who wants to look at a scrawny boy and a girl with giant breasts in their panties when they could look at the beautiful mermaid girl?

Finally after it's over, and Quarter leads us to the Training Center. We go all the way up to the twelfth floor. Jared and I quickly get changed, but then we have to watch the recaps. I keep on my funky make up, because I kind of like it. Clemence has a very good hand. The spirals are near perfection. I attempt to put my wild hair into a pony tail, but it ends up failing. I don't even bother to try to take it out. Then I put on a pair of black sweats and a white tank top and go out to where the television is.

Everyone is already out there while I make my way to a seat. "Shame, you missed the Anthem," Mr. Abernathy sarcastically says and I surprise myself by actually laughing a little.

The ceremony is just like every year, except now I'm watching it with Jaxith and he does _not_ know how to shut up. He keeps on making comments on the other people's outfits. How a shorter length could've made her legs look longer, how he probably would have gotten sponsors if his shirt was off. Frankly, all of these other girls look far prettier than me, but I don't want to say anything. Then Jared and I show up and Jaxith, the skilled commenter, says how amazing we look. Once again, my lips are sealed.

The Anthem plays once again, and then we're told to get a good night's rest because it's going to be a busy day tomorrow!

**A/N: Hahaha, I love the idea of Capitol people doubling over for a good rack(: Jaxith was created in God's image! Hahaa! If you're having a hard time imagining him, picture any 80's rocker and then have a rainbow throw up on said 80's rocker.**

**I personally picked Stephen Tyler :D, Madii**


	4. Chapter 4 PreGame Games

Chapter Four- Pre-Game Games

This morning is my first training session, and I won't lie: I'm scared. When Quarter tells me to wake up, I do with a feeling that I had only slept a couple of hours.

I get in the shower and the hot water is so welcoming I almost fall asleep. Once I realized what happened, I quickly finish and get out of the shower. My hair is dried, and I put my straight hair into a ponytail. The outfit that is laid out for me is simple: tight, black pants, a dark purple sweater, and tall black boots. They're shorter than the pair from last night, though. These ones only go up to my mid-calf and have about a three inch heel. I suddenly realize why they're making me wear heels. I'm a short girl, I really am. And what person wants to sponsor a short, 17 year old girl? No one. So they're making me tall.

After I get dressed, I go to the dining room where I'm greeted by Jared, Quarter, and Mr. Abernathy.

"Here!" Quarter exclaims, passing me a plate with toast, bacon, and eggs, "Eat up! Today's your first training day!" I reluctantly nibble on toast, and Quarter continues to talk, "I was just asking Jared what special skills he had. Do you have any, Madigan?"

I have to think about this one… special skills? "Umm…" I reply, still thinking… Nothing comes to mind, so I say probably the most unskillful thing in the world, "I can wash clothes."

Mr. Abernathy laughs and then says, "She can wash someone to death!" And that's when I realize something. He's just like everybody else. Sure, he's a drunk, but don't we all have a flaw? Or lack thereof, considering I can't even think of a way I could kill someone. And hey, maybe drinking makes him who he is: Haymitch. Haymitch is a witty, funny, sometimes inappropriate, drunk man.

"Well, a clean corpse is a happy corpse!" I skillfully respond, and then Haymitch and I double over in laughter until Quarter silences us with a cough.

"I'm sorry, Madigan, but I don't think washing clothes will get you anywhere in the arena." She replies with a 'shame on you' face.

"Then I got nothing," and with that, we start laughing again. I don't even know why this is so funny. I find my death amusing. Now _that's_ messed up. I guess it's better than the other option, which is to be scared. And who can blame me, anyways? I _am_ going to die; they can't say anything to me!

Quarter apparently has had enough of our shenanigans, and clears out her throat, "Well, now that I see we're done here, Jared and Madigan, you two will meet me at the elevator in about ten minutes okay? Get tidied up, you two. And Jared, do something with your hair." I then look over at Jared who put his hand on top of his head. When he puts his hand down, I can't help but stifle a giggle. The driers probably did something weird to his hair, and now he has one giant curl on the top of his head. I then get up and proceed to my room, Jared flies past me and I smack his head playfully as he runs by.

I brush my teeth and redo my ponytail, which I now realized sucked. Then I look at myself in the mirror until it is time to go. Once again, everyone is waiting on me. Quarter pushes us into the elevator and as the doors are closing, I can hear Haymitch telling us to have fun in a very sarcastic voice.

The elevator takes us down, until we stop at the floor labeled 3. The tributes from District 3 and their escort shuffles in. I smile at them and the girl tries to smile back, but she looks so scared. They both do. The boy looks older and lankier, but they're both extremely thin and wear glasses.

When we get to the training rooms, someone pins a number 12 to my back and I flinch when it accidently stabs me in the back, "Oops!" The woman apologizes, "I'm sorry, Ms. Forrester!"

Jared and I get off the elevator while Quarter stays on and tells us she'll see us later.

I look around, and suddenly, I have the urge to laugh. I put my face in my sleeve and pretend I have a cough. We all look so ridiculous! You could slice the tension in this room with a butter knife! The Careers are giving every one death stares, and the children from the other districts do whatever they can not to look at them. The room is also divided: Careers on one side, everyone else on the other. Not wanting to break the status quo, I guide Jared over to the 'everyone else' side. Jared looks like he's about to vomit, and I tell myself I'll stay with him for the rest of the day. He's too young to be scared. And plus, the odds are, I won't have to kill him. So that's good.

A very strong (and handsome, if I do say so myself) looking man tells us to all gather around, but the only people that seemed to move were the Careers and myself. Feeling the Career's gaze at me, I slowly inch my way back to Jared. Abe tells us the rules for today and the next two days. They're pretty simple, no getting into fights with other tributes (Darn, I really thought I could take that boy from District 2…), we can go to whatever station we want to learn new things or to better things we already know, things like that.

After he releases us, everybody disperses. I start to walk to a snare station, until I notice that Jared still hasn't moved an inch. I go back to him, "Hey," I say, "Do you want to learn how to make snares?" He nods, and then he follows me to the station.

Surprisingly, he's much better at this than I am. He has more delicate fingers, more patience. I, on the other hand, just want it to be over with as soon as possible, leaving mine to be sloppier and less accurate.

We sit by each other at lunch, but none of us says anything. After lunch, though, we try the fire station. This, I am good at. I flew by the matches phase and when I did, it looked like the whole table caught on fire! Using flint took me a little bit longer, but I eventually got it. Then it was time to go back to our floors.

I waited until all of the Careers were gone to get on an elevator. Who knows what would happen if we were stuck with them. I probably would have had a laughing fit, and Jared would have thrown up all over them. Not a pretty sight.

When the elevator opens, Quarter and Haymitch are waiting for us. "So," Quarter's high pitched voice fills my ears as she gets up from the couch, "How'd it go? Did you learn anything?"

Jared still looks dumb-founded and I tell Quarter I need to take a shower before dinner. "Madigan!" She exclaims, but my door is already closed.

Once again, the warm water sooths my body. I could get used to this. I stay in for quite some time, but then I wonder if anybody else's hot water is affected, and consider getting out. Then I remember this is the Capitol and continue to let the shower rain on my skin.

I finally get out and dry up. I put on the same clothes, except I let my hair stay down and natural. I try something new by parting it to the side. Maralah told me that when she was doing my hair she gave me side bangs, so it would frame my face nicer. I don't really see a difference, but it still looks all right. I can't tuck all of my hair behind my ear anymore, but hey, that's the price of beauty.

"Dinner!" Quarter exclaims as she knocks on my door. I go to the dining room, and Quarter still wants to know what went down in the training room. "What stations did you go to? Jared, dear, are you okay? You look like you're about to pass out. Madigan, please stop laughing unless you're going to tell us what is so amusing. Haymitch, put that glass down." Of course, no one answers her, but I have the feeling as long as you let her talk, she'll get her kicks.

The next two days are the same, except with new stations. Jared and I kind of learn how to throw knives, but neither of us have the greatest aim. I heard the girl from District 1 laugh at us, and I was tempted to throw the knife in my hand at her, but I have to follow the rules. And plus, I'd probably miss… We then went to archery, which was just about as good as the knives. I was better at it, though. I had better aim there.

The only thing that mainly changed was that Jared and I started talking. As we were talking, I couldn't help but notice the resemblance between him and Avery. And thinking of Avery makes me think of Jesse and Ryan and how they're so small and can't afford to lose another mother figure. And thinking of that makes me think of Abercrombie and how I hope I taught him enough to raise a family. And thinking of all this makes me want to laugh all over again, but I don't.

On our last day, the Gamemakers have to judge us. I, being the District 12 girl, get to go last. Jared's telling me a story about his first day of school, and I'm pretending to listen, but I'm actually thinking of what to do. Then they call Jared in. I wish him good luck and ruffle his hair. I hope he makes a snare for them, that's what he was the best at. He comes out wearing his usual frightened appearance.

Then it's my turn. Walking in, I see the Gamemakers don't even acknowledge me. I'm going to need something to catch their attention. _Fire_. I go over to the station and get everything I need. I get leaves, logs, and then flint. From what I remember, it makes a bigger fire. I place everything down in the middle of the room, and then I start to rub the flint together and then _boom! _A fire is born!

That definitely gets their attention and their all staring at my fire. After a couple of seconds, one of them thanks me and then dismisses me. I get on the elevator alone and go back up to my floor. Once again, Quarter wants to be in the middle of it all and asks me what I did. After I tell her, she seems pleased and then continues to ask me to take a shower because I smell like ash.

I happily do so, and then we watch the scores. Careers get high ones, naturally. Jared ends up with a five and I give him a celebratory slap on the back and then I'm pleased when I manage to scrape up a seven. Haymitch and Quarter congratulate us and then tell us to get some sleep. Tomorrow is interview day!

I wake up before Quarter has to tell me and I'm actually excited! The interviews were always my favorite part of the Games. The girls always look so glamorous, it's almost like having one last day of being beautiful before we're forced to be barbaric.

At breakfast, we are joined with Jaxith and Fennella. They're talking about how excited they are for tonight and how Jaxith has the most 'perfect dress for me.' And for some strange reason, I get even more excited.

After breakfast, Jaxith told me that after lunch, my team would come and fix me up for tonight. So, I have a couple of hours to myself, which now feels like an excellent treat. I consider taking a nap, but I'm just so pumped up! So I go out in the hallway, and find a door that has an arrow going up. Wondering where it leads, I open it and find stairs. I walk up, and find an amazing view. The Capitol looks just as beautiful with the sun shining down on it. The lights are still awesomely colorful, and laughter from the people is louder.

Then I see Haymitch leaning on the railing. He must've heard the door slam shut, because he turned around, "Hey, kid," he says and I walk over to him.

"Oh, I'm sorry," I respond, "I didn't know…" He shakes his head and motions me over. When I get there, he points down at the streets where a girl with pink hair and a red tube looking dress is fighting with a boy with electric blue hair wearing a skirt (is he really wearing a skirt?). The girl pushes the boy and the boy exclaims in annoyance. Then I think he insults her dress, because she screams, "It's fabulous!" and runs away.

Haymitch and I start to laugh, but then I notice a clock on the top of a building. I notice that it's lunch time. I comment on this, and then he leads me downstairs.

After lunch it's officially "Get Madigan Sexy Time!" Once again, Knox and Maralah work on my hair while Clemence works on my makeup. From what I can tell, she's putting lavender colored eye shadow on. I notice that Knox has extensions in his hands. Some of it's black like my hair, but then other strands are brown. I wonder what they're doing to my hair, and then Clemence starts to paint my nails a soft purple color. After my nails are dry, Jaxith comes in with my dress and shoes.

The dress is absolutely beautiful. The color is a soft lavender and it's strapless. The part that covers my breasts has little, pretty flowers on it. Then there is ruching down my hips. Then on the right side, the silk fabric stops and then purple lace-like fabric shows. The silk goes down in a diagonal line, so the lace gradually gets shorter and shorter.

The heels are tall (just as tall as my boots the first night) and silver. Clemence zips up the skirt while Maralah puts on my heels. Then I am finally allowed to look in the mirror. I don't see myself sexy, though. I look beautiful. Stunning. My hair is piled into a huge bun on the top of my head, and I swear it's just as big as my noggin, but it looks spectacular. The brown extensions look amazing with my natural black hair. My eyes look similar with the swirled eyeliner, but tonight it looks more innocent and dazzling. As a finishing touch, Clemence puts a beautiful, silver flower on the side of my bun.

"Beautiful," Jaxith comments and I can't disagree. "Are you ready?" He asks and takes me out to the elevator. Unlike the opening ceremonies, Jaxith and I are the last ones there. I get smiles from everyone, and I can't help but to smile back at them.

We then get in the elevator and go to meet the famous Caesar Flickerman! I'm up and excited for the first 4 districts, but then I kind of get bored. The mermaid girl is trying a new look too. I can practically see her nipples!

Soon enough, it's my turn! "Now welcome District 12's Madigan Forrester!" I hear Caesar's welcoming voice and then I walk out and wave. I even hear someone whistle!

"Hi, Caesar!" I say.

"Madigan! You are looking _amazing_ tonight! Absolutely fabulous!" I then do a twirl for him without him asking and the crowd goes wild!

"Now, do you have a special someone at home?" He asks me, and now I know I'm in. He only asks the pretty people that question!

"Surprisingly, no," I truthfully respond. Caesar puts on a shocked face.

"Well I'm sure now all of the boys are falling head over heels for you!" The crowd laughs again.

"Oh and I won't be complaining about that!" I say like a giddy little girl. Caesar then asks me serious questions, about my strategy for the games. I babble on those questions, because honestly, I have no idea. I somehow turn around the question to my dress, or my hair. The crowd doesn't seem to mind, so that's my strategy for the interview. Then my time is up and Caesar tells me good bye.

After Jared's interview we go back up to our floor and we're told to go asleep. I can't, though. This day can't end… it just can't. I look at myself in the mirror. I don't want to take off my dress, I don't want to take out my hair, I don't want to clean off my makeup. I can't stay in my room anymore, so I go out near the television and sit on a couch, dress and all. The only thing I take off is my shoes, because they hurt my feet and I don't want to remember today as the day me feet hurt.

It's raining outside now, so I stare at the rain. "Hey, kid," I hear a familiar voice. I turn around and see Haymitch. He sits down on the opposite side of the couch I'm sitting on.

"Hey, yourself," I say.

"You did great tonight, you know," He compliments me, and I smile in thanks. "You look really pretty, too."

"Thank you," I say, and for the first time since I've been here, I feel like crying. I grab a pillow and hug it. "Do you want to know a secret?" I ask him, and he looks up at me. "I'm not scared. I know I should be, and I want to be, because maybe then I'd show some kind of emotion, but… I'm not… I know I'm going to be leaving my family, and friends and… I just don't know why…"

He then continues to stand up, and I think he's about to walk away, but then he reaches his hand out to me. I grab his hand and he pulls me up. He turns on something and soft music started playing. "It's called a radio," he says.

Then he grabs my hips and holds me close. Without my shoes, I notice that I am literally a whole head shorter than him. He places my hands around his neck, and I stand on my tippy toes. His hands find their way to my hips again. "What's this?" I ask.

"A girl as dressed up as pretty as you deserves a last dance," He replies and I wonder if he's drunk. My eyes fill up with tears, even though I tell them not to, and I feel a couple roll down my cheek. I then put my head on his shoulder and I continue to cry.

Haymitch puts one of his hands on the back of my head and rubs it sympathetically. I then lift my head up and look at him in the eyes. He then gently holds my face and then pulls it close to his. Our lips touch, and I wonder what the hell is going on. I don't stop, though. I let him touch my face, and I touch his as well. Then I stop… I shouldn't be doing this.

"I…" I begin to say something, but then I stop. I slowly take my hands away from his face, and he does the same to me. He looks utterly confused, and I'm sure I don't look any better. I bet I look confused _and_ have makeup streaking down my face. The last thing that was holding us together was one of his hands on my hips, and it lingered there for a little until he finally let go.

"Madi…" He begins to say my name, but I run away before he has the chance to say anything else. I don't even bother to take off my dress or my now-gross makeup before I pass out on my bed. The last thought going in my brain, is that I'm going to die tomorrow. Literally.

**A/N: SMOOCH! Hehehehe… This was a longer chapter, and I was going to split it in two, but I was just so stoked! And they were both too short on their own… but, whatever!**


	5. Chapter 5 The Games

Chapter Five- The Games

I'm in the Launch Room right now; I had my breakfast in the hovercraft, so I'm just waiting and sitting. Jaxith is here with me, so at least maybe he can give me some amusement. Unfortunately, he's doing just the opposite. He's telling me how when he gets the clothes he can know automatically what the arena's going to look like. He says he's been spot on for four years now.

Then my clothes come in, and Jaxith considers them for a while. "Put them on," he says, and I do. It's a heavy black sweater and tight and thin, but warm black pants. My boots have an extremely heavy sole, and Jaxith has to help me lace them up correctly. As a finishing touch, a black jacket with a fur-laced hood is my outerwear. He flips the hood up on my head and then down again. Then, he gets a ponytail holder and puts my hair in a bun on the top of my head. I don't even bother messing with it.

"Snow," I hear him whisper. Before I have the chance to respond, I'm told to prepare for launch. I stand on a metal plate until a cylinder is around me. I'm then lifted up.

I feel the arena before I see it, and I know Jaxith has now been correct for five years running.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, let the Fifty-fifth Hunger Games begin!"

I'm temporarily blinded for a couple of seconds, and suddenly glad that we have 60 seconds to wait. I blink furiously, willing the sting in my eyes to go away. When I finally get my sight back, I look in front of me, and I see exactly what I need right there. Flint. Even some wire to use for snares is right next to it!

I wonder if I would be able to grab it, then the gong sounds.

I trust my instincts and run to the flint. I miss the first time, reaching into snow. I curse my damned hand and grab it successfully this time and grab the wire as well. Then I run. I get the hell away from the Cornucopia, and try to find somewhere safe. Well, I found my water source, I wittily think to myself and allow myself to chuckle a little while looking at the snow.

I look back and notice that I can't see the Cornucopia anymore, so I think it's safe to just jog. Then I remember that I have no weapons. I have things that can keep me alive, but nothing to kill anybody with. My mouth slips a few swear words, and then I shut up.

I decide to not to worry about that and continue to look for shelter. I see a couple of caves, but I assume the Careers will see them as well, and I don't fancy a territory fight. Especially when I'm outnumbered with no weapons.

So I continue to walk. As I'm wondering how long it has been, cannons begin to sound… one… three… seven… nine… ten. The blood bath has taken ten lives. I realize I'm still clutching the flint and wire and decide to put it in my pocket. I feel something soft in there, though. _Gloves_. Oh, how I'm so happy to see these! They're the heavy duty kind, water proof and are fuzzy on the inside.

I allow myself to look at my surroundings. I see trees everywhere, topped with snow. Surrounding, almost in a circular pattern, huge mountains are seen.

Finally, I see a cave that is far enough away from the Careers, and that is where I decide to set up shop!

I take off my jacket and gloves, because surprisingly, it's kind of warm in here, and I look at my booty: flint and a wire. Huh…so maybe not the most successful Cornucopia grab I've ever seen, but at least it's something. I go outside of my cave to gather logs, sticks and leaves. This takes a while, but then I find pine needles, and remember how the girl at the fire station told me that they burn well, too. So I grab a couple of those, and I rip off some branches from trees off and go back in the cave.

I take off one of my boots—careful not to ruin the lacing—and then one of my socks. I try to dry off the needles and the branches as well as I can, but then I realize that that's not going to happen tonight, so I just put them to the side and hope they dry by tomorrow. I put my sock and boots on again.

Then, I move on to my wire. I try to remember how to make a snare, but nothing is really coming to mind. Then I remember! I try as carefully as I can, trying to be patient, but my fingers feel they're about to fall off and the wire is so thin, it makes a deep cut in one of my fingers.

"Shit!" I exclaim and put my finger in my mouth. I suck on it until the bleeding has stopped, then I notice how purple they look. I quickly put on my gloves, and see that all of the things that are going to keep me alive can't do jack now. I'm now extremely thirsty, and I'm sweating profusely, so my jacket's off again and I roll my sweater sleeves up. I then consider face planting my face in snow.

Refusing the temptation, I grab a little bit and put it on the tip of my tongue, praying it's not poisonous. When I'm sure I'm still alive, I put some more in my mouth. The snow melts in my mouth and I have never been so happy that snow is surrounding me. I'd always thought it was a hassle; we never had the right coats or the right shoes. But now that I do, it's not so bad!

It's getting a little darker now, and when I looked outside, I could see the moon. Then I know my day's over because the Anthem starts. I wonder why it's still bright outside, but I bet the snow's reflecting the light or something.

I carefully watch all of the dead victors. The girl from 2, both from 3, the girl from 5, boy from 6, girl from 7, boy from 8, boy from 10, girl from 11, and… Jared. Oh, no! The Anthem plays again and I slowly make my way back into the cave. I try something, and it successfully works. I start to carve in the walls of the cave with my flint. I make 12 columns, numbering them 1-12 and then I start to mark who is dead. G for girl and B for boy.

Let's see… the people who are alive are: both from 1, the boy from 2, both from 4, the boy from 5, the girl from 6, the boy from 7, the girl from 8, both from 9, the girl from 10, the boy from 11 and me.

5 Careers. Hopefully soon they'll knock each other out so I don't have to deal with them. I don't know what else to do, except try to get some sleep. I lay my jacket on top of me, and slowly but surely, drift off to sleep.

_Boom!_ I am awakened by the sound of a cannon blast. I'm shocked when it's not me the cannon was signaling for. I look outside, and I'm assuming it's still night time, but now I'm too scared to even think about going back to sleep. I put my jacket on correctly and sit up on the wall of my cave, grasping my flint and wire like my life depends on it.

_Boom, Boom! _Two more cannons, two more dead.

I wait. I wait for anything to happen. For more cannons to sound or for the Careers to come and find me any second. After what seemed like a couple of hours, I am sure that I am safe in my humble home. I reach over and feel the branches and pine needles. The needles are dry, but the branches aren't, so I decide to wait until they are. I notice it's bright outside, so I assume it's now morning time.

I go outside and decide to try to camouflage my cave. Hmmm… How could this work? Then I look to my side and see little bushes, just about the height of my cave! It takes a while, but somehow, I manage to uproot them and I place a couple outside of my cave. I'm very careful to hide my footprints, and I put snow where the bushes used to be.

Then, I pretend to be a Career, swagger and all. I pretend that I have weapons and food and pretend that the rest of my pack is following me, "Hey," I say in a deep voice, "We gotta find people to kill, guys. But…" I'm getting closer to my cave and pretend I don't see it, "I can't seem to find anyone!"

"Hey!" Now I'm a different person, "What if there's a cave somewhere?"

"Nah," Now I'm back to the deep voice, "We'd see it! Do you see any caves?"

I say no as a different Career. Then I start laughing. I've officially lost it. But, I did do a really good job camouflaging, though. I hide my footprints—which is really hard because I'm making more and more—and grab a handful of snow before I go back in my cave. I shift the bush back and now I only have a little bit of light, because the bushes are blocking it. But no light is better than dying, right?

_Boom!_ Another cannon. The Careers are really on their game, huh? But then I remember something when I look down at my pants. They're black. Snow is white. The Careers can probably see someone from a mile away! I bet the darn Gamemakers did that on purpose.

Well, at least I have my cave! I take a celebratory handful of snow and my hands pretend to do cheers with each other.

I try to remember the sound of the cannons. They seemed to be getting further and further away from me… Does that mean the Careers are getting further away from me? I sure hope so…

_Boom!_ Yet another cannon. And again, it sounds more distant than the last one

I stay in my cave for the rest of the day, wondering how long I could live off of snow when the Anthem starts to play. Whoa, it seems like two seconds ago I was playing Career! Well, time flies when you're having fun!

I move one of the bushes so only my head peaks out. I bet I look hilarious right now. The girl from 6, the boy from 7, both from 9, and the girl from 10 all have pictures in the sky tonight. I feel sad for them, but at least it's not my picture up there. I get back in the cave and mark them on the wall. Nine are alive. Five of them are Careers.

I try to get some sleep, and right as I'm falling asleep, I'm awakened by shrilling screams. It's still dark outside, and the only reason why I can see is because of the moonlight.

"_Ahhh!"_ I hear a girl scream. Then I look outside and see her stark naked, running from someone. Then I hear laughter, and I know it's them. I quietly look at my chart and know the girl running was from District 8—she's the only girl that's not a Career besides me. Then I see a boy Career—I think he's from 1—lift a bow and he loads it with an arrow. I know I should look away, but I see just enough to know the arrow pierced her right in the heart.

One last scream is heard from the girl and then the cannon sounds. I stop breathing as they get closer to me.

"Nice shot, Achilles!" One of the girls compliments him and if my ears don't deceive me… was she _flirting_ with him? Huh… Well a girl's got to do what a girl's got to do, right?

"Thanks," is all he says with an edge to his voice. They're right in front of my cave right now, and I pray that my camouflaging was as great as I thought it was yesterday.

They walk in silence and I hear snow crunch beneath their feet. Then I see something fall from one of the boy's pockets. It's shiny and falls into the deep snow. They don't seem to notice, though, and I'm grateful that they didn't because I'm pretty sure if they picked it up, they would've seen my eyes, as big as the moon, staring at them.

I don't sleep for the rest of the night. My eyes don't leave that spot where the Career dropped something. I think it was a knife. I could use a knife.

When day breaks, I hope the Careers have made it far because I'm about to go for that knife. I'm pretty sure if I reach my arm out, I could grab it. I try that, but I epically miss. I hope the people in the Capitol at least got a little laugh from that. I know I would have. So I go outside and grab it. Yupp, it's a knife. A good one, too. With my new found confidence—and my new found knife—I go back into the cave. I try to organize up a little. I fold my jacket and placed my gloves on top of it. There—all neat and clean! I also take off my boots because they were just getting annoying and I put those next to my jacket.

Now I'm going to try to work on a snare! I warm up my hands, and right then, my stomach grumbles. Yes, I know I'm hungry. I think mine's decent enough and I try it out on my hand. Yeah… it works… And my wrist has the cut to prove it. Proudly, I put my jacket and boots back on and put my flint and knife in my pockets. I look around for a good tree to put my snare in.

Then I see a black blob coming my way, and I'm pretty sure he sees me too, because he starts running towards me. He has a sword in his hand and I'm glad I have my knife. I quickly get that out of my pocket, but I don't let him see it. When he's close enough, though, I try to visualize my target and then I throw the knife at him.

Like at practice, I failed, but it got him to drop his sword and fall to the ground. The knife hit him in the shoulder, and he takes it out. Oh no! He is _not_ going to take my knife! I try to run away from the sword, so he won't have a chance to grab it and then have two weapons against me. My plan works but now he's trying to get as close to me as he can so he can cut me to death. I run in zig-zag patterns so it's hard for him to grab me. This sucker is _fast_ though! I mean within like one minute, he has me pinned to the ground! For some strange reason, I'm hoping that people are watching me right now, not the stupid Careers.

The boy is straddled on me, and I'm trying to push him off while he's trying to cut at my neck. He's more successful than me, considering he has at least seventy-five pound on me, but I don't let this stop me. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Super Madigan comes to the rescue! I lift my legs as he starts cutting my shoulder and I wrap them around his neck. This surprises him and he flies to the ground. Now I am on top of him, and my blood starts to fall on his face. The knife is still in his hand, though, so his hand is flying anywhere it can cut. I feel sharp pains on my abdomen, legs, and even my chest. Through the pain, my right hand forms a fist and punches him square in the jaw. I hope it hurt him more than it did me, because my hand is _dying _right now! It doesn't help that I don't have my gloves on either.

My punch shocks him and he actually drops the knife! He struggles to grab it again, but it's hard with his giant gloves. Using this as an opportunity, I grab it—with success!—and then slit his neck.

His blood sprays my face, and I now realize how warm blood is. The cannon booms when I'm still on top of him. My first kill. I keep waiting on him to wake up, though. For him to jump back up, and kill me. This doesn't happen, and I notice he's wearing a backpack, so I take that. Like the rest of our get-up, the backpack's black. Right after I sling the backpack over my shoulder, a hovercraft comes and collects him. I go over and grab his sword as well.

I look at the mess around me. The white snow is showered with bright red blood. I do the best I can to cover it up, and then I go back into my cave, grabbing my snare, blood trailing behind me.

As it turns out, though, I won't need that snare! Inside the backpack, I find jerky, a couple of little loaves of bread, a fruit which I think is an apple, and a full water bottle. Even though I don't need the water bottle, I'm still grateful for it. I decide to nibble on a little bit of jerky, and my word, it feels like a feast! I try to remember the last thing I ate… waffles, I think and orange juice.

Then, I decide to get cleaned up. I realize I should have done this earlier, because I bet I look pretty sick with the boy's blood on me, but whatever. I take off one of my socks and I put it in a little puddle, so I could wash off my face. When I'm done with that, I realize that my face is still bleeding; the boy must have cut my face! The bastard!

Bracing the cold, I strip so I'm only in my undershirt and panties. Cuts are on my stomach, shoulders, arms, chest, and legs. I then examine my clothes and see they're now full of holes. I wash off my cuts, and look in the backpack again. I see a couple of bandages. I put two of them on my worst cuts: one on my chest and one on my thigh. Once I am satisfied, I put my clothes back on.

I sit for the rest of the day, waiting for the Anthem. When I finally hear it, I look up in the sky. The naked girl from 8, and the boy I killed. He was from 5. Seven of us left: me, the boy from 11 and the five Careers.

Once again, I try to get some sleep, but once again, I am woken up. Not by screams, or cannons, but a… huh… What is this? It's a strange feeling, like the ground is slowly shaking. _The Mountains_. I quickly throw on my jacket, and shove everything that I can find in my backpack. I run outside and look for the tallest tree I can find.

Once I find a really tall one, I climb until I get to the top. Sure enough, right when I got to the top most branch, mountains begin to collapse. I don't know if it was just my imagination, but I hear screams. My tree swayed, and I prayed it would be strong enough and stay up. I hold on for my life.

After what seemed like a lifetime, the snow finally settled. One… two… three. Three more dead. Four of us left. It was now early morning, but I didn't want to go anywhere.

Somehow, I fall asleep, and I fall out of the tree. "Oww!" I exclaim when I hit the hard ground. _Hard ground?_ The snow froze over! It's now dark outside, and I hear the Anthem play. Then the faces came: the girl from 1, the boy from 2, and the boy from 4. I don't need my chart to tell me that there are only two Careers left!

I stay up and alert for the rest of the night, knowing that I have nowhere safe to go. Finally, the next morning, I begin to walk. Mine as well see where the party is, right? I have to admit, I felt pretty tall walking. Some places the snow got so high, I was level with the tips of trees! Now, I was glad I kept the water bottle, because below me was pure ice. I take a couple of sips and have a little loaf of bread. I'm pretty sure I ate some mold, but it was still delicious!

Then I hear voices. "We only need to kill you, District 11!" I hear the mermaid girl from 4 tell a darker boy who is from 11. Wait… they only need to kill him? Did they forget about me?

Then the boy from 1, Achilles, who still has his bow, aims at the boy. But then, instead of killing him at the last second, he aims towards the girl and shoots her right in the middle of her eyes! _Boom!_ The cannon signaled her death. I'm shocked, and so is the boy, and he takes this opportunity to run, but Achilles loads another arrow and shoots him in the back. He's still alive, though, and stands up and continues to run. I have to admit, this is quite a sight, seeing that the arrow has impaled his stomach.

Achilles starts laughing, and seeing that he is distracted, I sneak up behind him, and before he knows what's coming to him, I slit his throat. He falls to the ground and then the boy from District 11 falls soon after. Two final cannons are heard. A hovercraft comes and collects the bodies.

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" I hear Claudius Templesmith's loud, ecstatic voice, "The Fifty-fifth Hunger Games Victor, Madigan Forrester!"

I stand there, dumbfounded. I feel the cut on my chest starting to bleed again and I let the warmth sooth my body. A hovercraft comes to get me and they release a ladder, but I just stand there.

Someone starts to climb down of the ladder and he grabs me and holds me. Then the electric current holds us in place until I'm finally safe in the hovercraft. The same man leads me to a chair, but I still stand. I see a reflection of myself in glass, but I have to touch my face before I'm convinced it's me. I have cuts all over my face and my hair is still in the bun that Jaxith put it in. Then, a doctor comes to me. He wants to examine my cuts. He strips me buck naked, but I stand as still as I can. He complimented me on my choice of cuts that got the bandages, because those are the two that need stiches. I stand there as he threads through my skin. The doctor tells me I can put on new clothes, which were placed on a nearby table, but an assistant has to cloth me, because I just stand.

The same assistant leads me to my room and tries to feed me applesauce, but I don't even open my mouth. I hear one of the assistants say that I need to liven up before my Presentation in a couple of days.

Oh… I get to wear another pretty dress for that, too.

**A/N: WOWZA! I honestly thought this was going to be a really hard chapter to write, but actually, once I started it, I **_**loved**_** it! If you kept track, it was only 5 days, which is kind of short, but whatever. Maybe the cold made the need for killing hot.**

**I forgot to mention something in last chapter's A/N, the dress that I had Madigan wear is in the March 2011 issue of Seventeen. It's on page 86, and it's the "Cool Cinderella" one.**


	6. Chapter 6 Crowning the Victor

Chapter Six- Crowning of the Victor

I wake up in an entirely new room. Instead of white like the one of the hovercraft, it's a nauseating, soft pink. I don't know how long I've been asleep, but when I wake up, I feel like I've hibernated a whole winter. I look at my arm and I notice tubes attached to it. I don't like this one bit, so I start to take them out one by one.

"Oh, no you don't," I hear a voice and I gasp in shock. I didn't even realize this room had a door! I don't recognize the man, and like the tubes, I don't like this one bit.

"Who the hell are you?" Surprisingly, my voice sounds a lot deeper. The man doesn't answer me, but he starts to walk towards me. He then starts to put in the needles I had just taken out.

"I'm your doctor. We put you in a coma for the last couple of days. You had some major internal bleeding, so we had to perform surgery. You had us scared for a while, there. You also wouldn't eat when we would force you to, that's what some of the tubes are for."

Right after he finished putting in the needles, he looked satisfied. Then, I took out the needles again.

"Will you stop that? You need to get hydrated."

"No," is my response. The doctor raised his hands and then walked out the door. Damn, I was hoping he would have a bigger reaction. Oh, the things I have to do for amusement.

Once all of the tubes are successfully out and I'm sure no one will force them back in my skin, I decide to go for a walk. I get out of bed to notice that I am butt naked, but I don't even bother putting clothes on because the only clothes I can see is the outfit I had to wear in the arena.

"Hey," I say as I'm walking down the hall, "Does anyone know where some clothes are?" I don't care if I look crazy. I just won the Hunger Games, of course I'm going to look crazy. Mine as well look crazy and naked. I find myself near a table and Quarter, Haymitch, and Jaxith are sitting there. Once they see me they all have different reactions. Quarter's eyes get big and she exclaims, "Oh, my!" Haymitch quickly covers his eyes with both of his hands, acting like if he looks at me, he'll turn to stone; and Jaxith looks extremely calm, but I think I hear him comment on what a shame it was my breasts got smaller.

Jaxith is the one that points to a simple outfit on the corner of the table, "I guess I forgot to put it in your room," he says.

"It's like ya'll were trying to get me out here naked!" I joke as I put on the clothes right then and there. Haymitch peeks between his fingers and once he's sure I'm clothed, his takes his hands away from his face. "What time is it?" I ask with a yawn.

"About nine in the morning," Quarter says with a smile, obviously comforted that my clothes are on. "Your Crowning is tonight!" She adds with a clap. I try to smile at her, but I actually want to do nothing today, let alone pretend to be happy that I'm alive.

"Come, come," Jaxith says and grabs me by the arms, "We have a lot of work to do." And with that, I was shoved on an elevator. On the way up, Jaxith talked about how amazing I'm going to look tonight, how everyone loved me in the arena, and how he got _endless_ compliments on the dress I wore on interview night.

When I get up to the 12th floor, my team is there waiting. Surprisingly, they look even more obnoxious now. Clemence's tan looks more orange, Maralah's nose looks more mousey, and Knox's terrible eye shadow reached a whole new level. I smile and pretend I'm happy to see them.

Then they have to make me presentable. They rip out hair from my legs, and tweeze my eyebrows. Then they strip me and I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror. The cuts on my face are gone, and my skin looks as smooth as a baby's bottom. I look down at my chest, and sure enough, the huge gash that was there is now perfect skin. How do they do that? That doctor said I was only knocked out for a couple of days!

"My word," Clemence begins to talk; amazed at the same thing I was amazed about, "I didn't think they were going to get those _awful_ cuts healed! But now it looks like they didn't even exist!" Then she continues to finish my makeup while Knox puts barrettes in my hair.

A couple of minutes later, Jaxith showed up with the dress and shoes I'm going to be wearing. It's a pretty red dress. It's very similar to the one I wore to my Reaping. It has a halter top, and the breasts have ruching on them. Then the dress hugs my hips and flares out a little bit once it gets to my knees. The heels are tall and the same bright red as the dress. My hair is in a tight, high ponytail and has diamond clips scattered around. My makeup is very simple, no swirls but a light pink shadow and red lipstick.

Jaxith considers this for a moment and then he finally comments, "You look… grown-up." I look at myself in the mirror again, and that's exactly what I look like. I didn't look like a scared little girl who just won the Hunger Games, and _that_ was the part that scared me. The Capitol doesn't want to see that little girl; they want to see an adult. Someone who survived the worst and can now tell to live the story.

Then we all pile on the elevator and go to the floor where we trained. Right when I step foot in that room, I remember Jared, and I feel like crying. He's dead, now. Every single tribute that filled this room is now dead. And even though I'm only responsible for two, it feels like I have all twenty-three spirits piled heavy on my back. We walk through a couple of doors, until I'm told to wait on a metal plate that has a ghostly resemblance to the one that lifted me to the arena. I'll be the last person to rise to the stage.

I hear cheers for my prep team, and then more for Quarter. Jaxith gets a nice sized applaud as well. Then Haymitch rises and I swear I could feel the floor shake! When they finally calm down, it's my turn to rise, and they go crazy again. They go crazy _for me_. I smile and I wave and I blow kisses, and they love me more and more. Finally, with tears in my eyes from laughing so much, I make my way over to Caesar and the rest of my support team. I'm standing in between Haymitch and Caesar and they both give me hugs.

I suddenly notice that I'm laughing like a madwoman and I will myself to stop. I do and then Caesar leads me to my chair on one side of the stage while my team goes to chairs on the other side. I have to say, this chair is _so_ much more beautiful in person, and I gladly take a seat.

"So, Madigan," Caesar says as he takes a seat next to me, "Congratulations!" And when he says this, the crowd goes wild again. It takes a couple of minutes for them to calm down before Caesar announces that we'll now be watching the highlights. It starts with the Opening Ceremonies, and I now see how—yes, I dare say it—Achilles was a looker! He had platinum blonde hair, ice blue eyes and I wouldn't be complaining about his body! Then I see his neck and can't look away because I keep on remembering how easy it was to slit his throat. It's the same with the boy from District 5. Except he wasn't as cute.

Then the interviews show. They show four interviews: Achilles's, the boy from 5, mine, and Jared's. I find this odd, but then I realize that they want my reactions. I try to look critical during my kills, I look happy when I see mine, and then somber when they play Jared's.

Now it's time for the juicy stuff. They show me what I didn't see when I was in the arena. I watch the blood bath and after that, every time I looked at my red dress, I thought of that horrific event. I saw how Jared died. He was trying to run away, but then Achilles shot him with the new arrows he had found. Achilles pumped his fist—his first kill. I suddenly was glad that I was the one who killed him.

They show the part where I'm camouflaging my cave, and I laugh along with the Capitol audience as I mimic a Career. But while I'm watching, I see how crazy I actually looked! My eyes were always wide open, like a scared doe, with my eyebrows always arched and my skin looked sickly pale. I saw that my hands were constantly fidgeting, and I wonder how I never noticed that in the arena. They showed some shots of me sleeping, and we could hear laughter. I was laughing in my sleep. Lovely.

The next thing they show is my breakthrough with the knife, and I can't help but smile. That knife saved my life, you know. My fight with the boy from 5 is next. If I do say so myself, the fight was pretty awesome, and I heard the audience gasp in shock whenever it looked like I got hurt. I couldn't help but wonder that if the boy had won, they would be gasping whenever he got hurt. When I punched the boy, the audience applauded and then I slit his throat. Whoa, I looked pretty nasty with his blood all over my face. I did stifle a giggle when I started to nibble on the jerky, though. It was hilarious. I still had blood on my face and I could see my clothes starting to get wet with blood, but there I was, nibbling away!

Then the avalanche. They showed me how I was the smartest one, climbing a tree. Only the boy from District 11 did that other than me. The last recap was when I killed Achilles. The audience clapped and clapped and even when the lights turned back on, they were still cheering.

President Snow came out accompanied with a little girl, holding the crown—excuse me, _my___crown. He has a sick smile on his face as he places it on my head, and the faint smell of roses fills my nostrils. The crowd goes wild again, and no one stops them. Caesar then reminds Panem to stay tuned tomorrow for my final interview.

I wake up to find my stylist team waiting for me again. My hair is in loose curls and a white headband holds back the hair. My makeup is simple again; I guess now that I won over the Capitol I'm allowed to look normal. Jaxith comes in later with a cute dress and—surprise!—white flats. The dress barely reaches my knees and is a sky blue color. Around my waist is a long, white ribbon. It's a topless dress so Knox puts a pretty silver necklace around my neck. I notice it has a little pendant, and I look closely at it. It's a circle, and inside is the number 55 in a pretty font. 55—I won the 55th Hunger Games.

"Can I keep it?" I whisper and Knox smiles and nods. I look in the mirror and instead of the adult I saw last night, I see an innocent little girl. I walk out in the hallway to see Caesar already waiting for me.

"Madigan!" He calls, and gives me a hug. I suddenly realize what the heels did for me, because now I'm way visibly shorter than him. I apparently got here just in time, because right when I sit down, they start to count down.

"_Hello, Panem!_" Caesar's usual cheerful voice booms through the room, "I am here today with our 55th Hunger Games Victor, Madigan Forrester!" I then smile and wave as Quarter gives me a thumbs up.

"Now, Madigan. How does it fell, knowing that you're safe forever?" he asks, but I can't come up with an answer. Safe forever? Is anybody safe anymore?

"Uhh…" I mumble, "Good! It feels good! I'm really excited to see my friends and family!"

Caesar's smile gets bigger and then he asks the next question, "Now… I'd say for Panem that you weren't exactly the most brutal tribute in there, do you think you could tell us why?"

Huh? Is he asking me why I didn't go on a huge killing spree? "Well, I wasn't really a brutal person before the arena, and I guess I was just staying true to myself, you know? Surviving… defending myself. I did what I had to do, without playing around."

Caesar takes a few seconds to respond, "How inspiring…"

The rest of the interview goes good. He asks me about my brothers, how I felt when I killed the two tributes, if I was scared, and things like that. Answers came simply, and I was glad for that. I didn't have anything to pack, so right after the crew left, we left for the train.

My fans were there so as we pulled out of the station, I went to the back and waved at them one last time.

I go back in the train, I see Haymitch sitting on a couch, looking at me, "You did good, kid." Then he stands up and ruffles my hair before going to sip his drink.

**A/N: Poor Madigan, only getting a noogie! It's going to be a rock road for these two, but hang tight!**

**I love Spring Break, I can just write, and write… And write some more! Madii :D**


	7. Chapter 7 A Funeral for Father

**A/N: Slight M rating… Well, more like T+…**

Chapter Seven- A Funeral for Father

My homecoming had a totally different feel than I thought it would. I thought I would be happy, excited even, but it just felt… weird. Home doesn't feel like home anymore. My friends don't feel like my friends anymore. Everyone was so excited to see me, congratulating me, but I couldn't return the favor for some reason. The thing is: none of them have changed. I have. They expect me to be the same Madigan I was before the Games, and I just can't do that! I tried, though, I really did, but I can't joke like I used to, I can't talk like I used to, I can't be the same Madigan I used to.

So, lately, I've been playing a little game of hide-and-seek from my old life. And I think I'm doing pretty well at hiding, because I'm starting to feel people wither away.

My brothers moved in with me to Victor's Village. I didn't let my father. Abercrombie told me that he started drinking again when I left. I don't want that living in my house. He told me he'd sober up again, but I don't believe him. Even if he did get better, I'd only be able to see the man that broke my family for a second time. I heard the other day that he was getting worse and I didn't feel bad at all.

"Where's Daddy, Madi?" Ryan asks me for about the millionth time since we've moved in. I walk over to him and kneel down so we're face to face.

"He's living at our old house," I say and pick him up. It's way past his bed time.

"Why?"

"Because he wanted to," I lie and then put him in his bed.

"He didn't want us?" Ryan asks in the middle of a yawn.

"He hasn't wanted us for a while, babe," I respond and kiss him good night. I check that Jesse's fast asleep, and he is. When I go downstairs, Abercrombie opens the door, and Haymitch comes in drunk as a skunk.

Abercrombie looks shocked, but he moves so Haymitch can come in. He topples over a pair of shoes. I whisper to Avery to go upstairs and he follows my directions. This isn't the first time Haymitch has done this, but I must say I'm surprised because he's never done it when my brothers have been home. I tell Abercrombie to go upstairs as well, but he doesn't listen.

"What do you want, Haymitch?" I ask and I lead him to my couch.

"I just wanted to see how you were," He slurs.

"Well, thank you for your concern but my brothers are sleeping, Haymitch."

Haymitch puts a finger to his mouth, "Then I'll be very quiet," No. This is not going to work.

I stand up, and force Haymitch up as well, "Come on, I'll take you home,"

Haymitch refuses and swats my hand away, "I don't want to go home, though!"

I continue to try to get him up, but he insists on staying on my couch. I eventually give up and just leave him there. "Fine," I say, "You can stay here." Moments later, Haymitch passed out on my couch.

I roll my eyes and pay my attentions to Abercrombie, "Now will you go upstairs?"

Abercrombie nods his head and goes upstairs. I walk back to the couch and pry the bottle of liquor out of Haymitch's hand. Out of curiosity, I take a sip and my face automatically makes a disgusted look. Yup, still as gross as ever. I put it on the counter and then go upstairs to finally get some well-needed sleep.

The next morning, I wake up and go downstairs. All of my brothers are up, and are crowded around the couch. Haymitch must still be here.

"Poke him," I hear Jesse tell Ryan. I run over there and grab both of them before they do something they'd regret.

"Let's just leave him alone," I say and guide them to the table.

After breakfast, Abercrombie takes the boys to school and I tell them to have a great day. Then I hear a moan come from Haymitch.

"How loud is it here?" he asks and I walk over to him.

"Maybe it would have been quieter at your house, but you just felt the need to stay here."

Haymitch shoots up and must have suddenly remembered where he was, "What the hell?"

"That's what I have been asking myself," I say and sit by him.

Haymitch starts to say something, but only manages to throw up on my coffee table.

"Gosh, Haymitch!" I exclaim and jump back, "What the hell?"

"Just leave it there," he stumbles his way to my kitchen and gets a glass of water.

"Just leave it there? You do know you _vomited_ in my living room!"

Haymitch must be very hung-over, because when I start to yell at him, it looks like he's in pain. "Shhh!" I roll my eyes and start to clean up the vomit with no pleasure at all.

"I saw your father yesterday, kid," He comments when I've finally finished cleaning.

"Yeah? How'd he look?" I ask nonchalantly, pretending I don't care.

Haymitch chuckles and finds his liquor. I quickly grab it from his hands, "Like death," was his reply.

"Death?" I ask unsurely and Haymitch nods, "Now I guess we'll just have to wait until he finally kicks it, huh?" Haymitch laughs and so do I.

Apparently, joking about my father's death wasn't necessarily funny, because after I took Haymitch home, a Peacekeeper came to my door saying they found him dead this morning.

I really didn't want to pay for a funeral, but wanting my father to be in the ground, I found it necessary. When the boys came home, I told Jesse and Avery to go upstairs, and I talked to Avery and Abercrombie. Abercrombie didn't seem to mind—he had the same feelings for my father as I did—but Avery didn't take the news so well. He started crying, and I didn't know what to do. Luckily, Abercrombie knew and he comforted Avery.

I suddenly got the craving for something, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. So I went to the one place I knew I didn't have to explain a thing: Haymitch's house.

I went in without knocking, knowing that he'd be drunk somewhere inside. I accidently slam the door, and Haymitch looks at me from behind his couch and notices it's me. I go over and sit by him, and take the bottle out of his hand. Not to put it somewhere where he can't get it, but to drink it myself. Right when I take a sip of that horrible liquid, I knew it was what I was craving.

When Haymitch realizes what I'm freely doing to myself, he starts laughing, "What do you think you're doing, kid?"

"My father died. Figure this way would be the right way to remember him." Haymitch laughs again.

"Are you serious?" He asks and then takes the bottle out of my hand to take a drink. I nod and he hands me the bottle willingly, "You're going to need this more than me…"

This lasts for quite some time, or I'm guessing because when I wake up, I still am in Haymitch's house. I move to sit up, but I'm stopped by a sharp pain in my head.

"Ouch," I mumble and rub my head. Haymitch comes over to me and hands me orange juice. I swat it away, knowing that if I put anything more in my stomach, I may explode.

Haymitch forces the cup in my hand, though. "It'll help with the headache," he says. I reluctantly take the cup and sip it.

It doesn't taste normal, though… "Is it spiked?"

Haymitch laughs and nods his head, "I was hoping you wouldn't notice…"

I continue to drink, because spiked or not, it did help my headache.

"Is the funeral today?" Haymitch asks as I'm about to leave. I say yes and leave before he says anything else.

Even though it's going to be hard to explain, I think it would be right if all of my brothers went. I dress Ryan in his nicest clothes, but right as we're all about to leave, Abercrombie retaliates.

"I don't want to go."

"You have to, Abercrombie," I say and try to shove him out of the door.

"No! I don't want to!" After a little bit of arguing, I decide to let Abercrombie stay. If he doesn't want to come, I won't make him.

The funeral was pretty pathetic, I won't lie. It was just me, Ryan, Jesse, Avery, and a couple of who I assume to be my father's old drinking friends. It was a simple ceremony, a couple of people said what a 'great man' he was, and then they lowered him in the ground. Avery was crying, and because of that Jesse was crying.

After the funeral, I put Jesse and Ryan to bed, and I got another craving. It wasn't that I needed a drink, but rather a human. I needed someone to understand why I felt the way I felt. Once again, I went to Haymitch's house.

I found him at his kitchen table, and I sit across from him. He notices me, but neither of us says anything. Haymitch puts down his bottle of liquor and then walks over to me. He grabs my face and then forces it onto his. His tongue warms my mouth, and suddenly, I've gotten what I was craving. I stand up, our lips still touching and I let him feel me all over. I put my hands on his face and he unzips my dress.

I rip off his shirt and he picks me up. We're still kissing when he brings us upstairs to his room. He puts me down and takes off my bra. This kind of thing has never happened to me before, but I kind of like it, so I lead his hands down to my breasts. I touch him in ways I've never touched a boy before, and the way he touches me makes me feel tingly inside. As he gets on top of me, I find myself in an entirely new situation that feels _so_ good.

**A/N: Well, I haven't uploaded in a while, huh? Apologies for that, my inspiration level has been on low lately. I'd assume this is what I would call a "filler chapter" considering nothing really exciting happened… y'know, besides the fact that Haymitch and Madigan decided to bang things out. I hope next chapter we'll see a lot of Madigan's internal struggles about everything that's been going on in her life. Intense…**

**Well, this is going to lead to a **_**very**_** awkward morning after… **

**Madii(:**


	8. Chapter 8 Snow's Proposition

**A/N: So this is what happens when I'm supposed to work on my English paper…**

Chapter Eight- Snow's Proposition

This is not good. This is not good. _This is not good. _

Last night's events seem to blur together, but yet I know what happened. _How_ could I let that happen? Was I thinking? I know for a fact I wasn't drunk, so that can't be my excuse… but Haymitch was. This is all his fault. He was drunk and I was vulnerable, and he took advantage of me.

I can't worry about that now, though, because now I just need to think of a way to slip out of his bed without waking him. I can feel the sheets warming my bare skin, and that's almost a slap in the face now. Yes, World, I know I slept with Haymitch. Thanks for reminding me.

Haymitch is still sleeping, and one of his arms is thrown across my stomach, almost like he's holding me down. I've woken up Haymitch before, and it's not a pretty scene. Especially when he has a knife. I slowly lift his arm to make sure he doesn't wake. Then I slip out and put his arm back.

Then I look at myself, and realize how ridiculous I must look. Being naked just adds to that factor. I hurry and put my clothes on—which happens to be a treasure hunt of itself, because my clothes are sprawled _all _across his room.

I get the hell out of his house and then barely walk two steps to get to mine. I wonder how I'm going to explain this to my brothers… Haymitch was drunk and I had to take care of him. Yeah, that'll be my excuse. Hopefully it'll work out, though, because I'm a terrible liar.

"Hey, where did you go last night?" Abercrombie asks right as I step foot into my house.

"I had to take care of Haymitch," I respond. To avoid further interrogation, I rush upstairs to my room before Abercrombie has the chance to ask anything else.

When I get to my room, I flop onto my bed, and a flood of memories from last night fill my head. Haymitch kissing me, me appreciatively kissing back, going up to his room… I thought it'd be different. I thought I'd feel different. I'm a woman now, right? But for some strange reason, I compare myself to those poor girls that sell themselves to Peacekeepers. I didn't sell myself, though… I willingly did this. Maybe it's because I don't love him. There was no connection last night; it was only physical. He didn't hold me afterwards; I didn't stay the morning…

I have a mini-seizure on my bed. How could I let this happen? I'm smarter than this! All I'm going to get out of this is broken ego. How am I supposed to look at Haymitch now? Should I just act like this never happened?

Because fate just _loves_ me, though, I'll find myself face-to-face with Haymitch in a matter of hours. It's time for my Victory Tour! I trust Abercrombie with the boys, and I feel much safer now knowing that they're in a nicer home.

I don't need to pack anything for the tour; Jaxith will take care of my wardrobe. I show up at the train station resisting the urge to just run for it. I know that will get me absolutely nowhere. I climb aboard the train and see the smiling faces of Jaxith and Quarter! Oh, how exciting it is to see their faces and to hear their accents!

Haymitch joins us a couple of minutes later and I do the best I can to avoid eye contact. I need something to say to him… I just need to figure out what…

With no warning, the train pulls out of the station with jump, and I fall onto Haymitch. Simply fabulous. He grabs me as my hands fall on his chest. More images from the night before pop into my head. I look up at him for the first time, hoping the images aren't being reflected in my eyes, but Haymitch just looks like regular, hazy Haymitch. Our awkward pose is held for just a moment too long. I don't realize this until Haymitch lets go of me and does this weird cough thing. I quickly turn away from him and then go to my room.

Most of my Victory Tour can be summed up as this: Speeches, dinner, meeting dead children's parents. Oh, and avoiding Haymitch. Then, it's time for me to go to the Capitol.

I definitely have a lighter conscience here. No dead children dwell here, only happy children. I don't have to look into the eyes of mourning parents.

My party is pretty happening, if I do say so myself. I'm having a good time, pretending to sip on my alcohol, talking to a past victor when I feel a cold hand on my shoulder. I turn around and see the President looking down on me. I convinced Jaxith to let me wear flats, so now I'm shorter than most people here.

"Ms. Forrester," he greets me and gives me some odd looking smile. "May I have this dance?" A slow song just came on and I see couples on the dance floor. Stunned, I nod and he takes me hand. His hand is so freezing that I'm almost scared if my hand will melt it.

I look at the couple next to me and see that the girl has her hands over the boy's neck, so that's what I do to Snow. He takes my hips and I have another flashback: the night of the interviews when Haymitch asked me to dance. He kissed me that night… why would he do that? Suddenly I'm angry at him and I know exactly why. He took advantage of me that night, too! I was positive I was going to die the next day, and he felt the need to slam out lips together.

"Ms. Forrester," Snow breaks the silence. "I have a proposition for you."

Uh-oh. This can't be good. "What is it?"

"You happen to be a desirable victor, are you aware of that?" I nod my head. "Desirable victors can acquire a lot if they listen closely to me. Rich men are offering to have you, Ms. Forrester, I would know. I've seen some of the offers."

"Have me?" I ask confused, "Like marriage?"

Snow laughs like I had just said the funniest thing. "Not marriage! Some of these men are already married! They just want you for one night, but their price can pay for a lifetime of happiness if you play my game." Suddenly I get it. President Snow wants me to sell my body like those poor girls in District 12.

"No," I say as my voice cracks, "I won't. I can't."

Snow laughs again. "Don't you see, Ms. Forrester? You _have_ to! Or there will be consequences."

"No," I repeat again and let go of him. He doesn't let go of me, though. In fact, he pulls me even closer so I can feel him breathing in my ear.

"You've been warned, Ms. Forrester." He says in the most frightening snarl I have ever heard. He lets go of me and gives me a hard push. I stumble a little, but then I run out to get air.

I've been warned? What's he going to do? He can't do anything, I'm a victor! I'm supposed to be safe! I'm breathing heavily and I'm willing tears back into my eyes. I can't lose it here at my party. My party, which should be happy and cheerful; not filled with sin and hate!

Quarter finds me outside clutching my stomach. I feel nauseous. "Madigan! Are you okay?"

"Yeah," my voice cracks again. "Just got a little hot in there,"

"Well come back in! It's freezing out here!" Quarter grabs me and I have no other choice but to go back in.

I notice that the president left. Serves him right, threatening me.

Finally, after an eternity, I'm home. I rush to my house, longing for Avery's innocent laugh and Jesse's hugs. Instead, when I open the door, I find no one. First this strikes me as odd. Don't they know that I'm coming home today? Then I think that Abercrombie must have taken them to Town or somewhere, so I decide to go and look for them.

I'm at the town, but I still can't find the black haired boys that should be so easily spotted here. I'm welcomed home by many strangers whose names escape me, and some of them comment on how they can't wait for the Harvest Festival tonight. The Harvest Festival. _Crap._

I'm getting really worried about my brothers now, so I decide to ask someone. I enter a store and an older woman is behind the counter.

"Hello," she says in a strained voice. She doesn't recognize me. She's using the voice most town people use to Seam people.

"Hi," I respond. "Have you happened to see any of the Forrester boys?"

The lady pulls a sympathetic face, "Didn't you hear? They were all found dead in their house yesterday morning. Carbon something… monomers? Monoxide? Something like that. Such a shame… their sister was on her Victory Tour."

_Dead?_ They can't be dead. No. Yesterday morning? That means they died a couple of nights ago… A couple of nights ago I was at the Capitol. A couple of nights ago I was dancing with the president… _"You've been warned, Ms. Forrester_." No. _No!_ He did not kill my brothers! He didn't even give me a chance to change my mind! I would have done anything to save my brothers!

I think the lady recognizes me now, because her face got more sympathetic and she asked me if I needed anything, free of charge. I don't answer her. I _can't_ answer her. I run outside of her shop to a trashcan and my breakfast leaves me. _Dead. _I can't accept it.

I walk back to Victor's Village, but I go to the house right before mine. Haymitch's house. I don't know where else to do. I lamely knock on the door and he opens seconds later. I can't hold them in anymore, tears just come.

"He-he-he killed muh-muh-myy brothersss!" I cry out and put my hands on my eyes, wiping tears away. Haymitch doesn't say anything, but he holds me tight. It's not the lusting feeling that he had the night we slept together, but rather a comforting feeling. He brings me to his couch and he continues to hold me as I cry. He rubs my shoulders and wipes my tears when I'm too tired to. For some reason, he reminds me of my mom. She used to make the worst possible situations feel better, and that's how I feel with Haymitch right now.

Eventually, he takes me home and that's when I realize I've missed the Harvest Festival. Haymitch leads me up to my bed. He tucks me in and kisses my forehead, reminding me of my mother once again. He leaves my room and when I hear the front door shut, I jump out of bed and go to my telephone.

I dial the Capitol and ask for the president. The lady on the other end tells me that he's been expecting a call from me.

Snow answers with a, "I can still do a lot for you, Ms. Forrester. Would you like to rethink your answer?"

"Yes."

**A/N: It had to happen! Who's heard of a happy, whole, complete victor? Unheard of! **

**Ugh… I guess now I have to write about Social Class of the 1800s… Eww…**

**Madii!**


	9. Chapter 9 The New Mentor

**A/N: Wow… so super mega apologies for this super mega period of me being stupid… School was **_**crazy**_** and then for a while, I totally forgot this fanfic even existed (Oops…). But on a brighter note, here I am! As you have may have read, I've stopped "Haymitch's Girl" ): Sad, I know, but this one has much more potential, so I can give it my full attention! **

Chapter Nine- The New Mentor

I think this is what a "good day" should feel like. I didn't have to go to the Capitol again today, which is good. I hate it there. I don't get what Snow is getting out of "our little deal," but so far, I've gotten nothing but disgrace. Of course, no one can see that though, and that's the problem. Everyone thinks I'm some amazing victor, and that they want to… well, screw me. Wives don't mind when their husbands pay to have me, and the husbands are totally fine with cheating on their wives.

I just don't get it.

There is one thing I do get, though. District 12 has always been in poverty, no doubt about it. The packages they get because I won the Hunger Games are helping a little bit, but they've started to get a little gnarly… So, because I am already rich and don't need money, Snow is giving plenty of food to District 12. "Now there will be no starving children, my dear Madigan. Isn't that what you've always wanted?" Were Snow's exact words to me.

Now District 12 is a charity and I can help it by having sex. I think I got the wrong end of the stick here.

It's been about a year since my Reaping, considering that the Reaping is tomorrow, and I am honest when I admit that I don't want to train these children at all. Especially with Haymitch.

I didn't tell him about my deal with Snow and Haymitch had to find out the hard way. He confronted me about it, and I had no other choice but to tell him the truth. Yes, I was sleeping with people from the Capitol. I then threw in the fact that it was to help the citizens of District 12, but that didn't seem to make him budge. He called me a stupid little girl and now we talk when forced.

I decide to take a walk in the town, and I can feel the people stare at me as I pass by. At least they see me for who I truly am: A whore. They don't know where their extra food is coming from, though. They think that coal hit a major profit rise. If only they knew… Well, to be honest, if they did know, they would probably refuse all of the food they've received. We're not big on charity here in District 12.

I see Arial walking past me with her new husband. They got married a couple of weeks ago, I was invited to their wedding, being a victor and all, but I respectfully declined. For some reason, I couldn't deal with crazy, happy, emotional people. Plus, Arial and I aren't even friends anymore. Sure we smile at each other on when we see each other on the street, but besides that, we have no contact. She married a town boy, that was a given. I don't know why, but I always expected more from her. Despite her frail outer surface, I bet that chick has the strength to break the status-quo.

Looking at Arial with her husband, starting their new life together, I realize how alone I actually am. People are moving on, and I feel like my life is in permanent pause as I try to piece together the meaning of all the things that are going on. My family's dead. My body is a machine for the Capitol's use. For all that matters, I consider myself dead, too.

After a long walk, I go to back to Victor's Village. I stop for a second in front of Haymitch's house for a while. I should talk to him, shouldn't I? I need to make things right with him. If anyone can possibly understand what I'm going through, it has got to be Haymitch Abernathy. And plus, we're going to have to get along, considering we're going to be forced to go to the Capitol tomorrow.

I muster up the courage and I eventually find myself at his door.

"Oh, it's you," Haymitch greets me.

"Hey," I say, trying to nonchalantly squeeze by him to get into his house.

"What are you doing here?"

"We haven't talked for a while an-"

"With good reason!" Haymitch interrupts me.

"What do you mean 'with good reason'?" I spit at him. "You can't judge me for what I'm doing, Haymitch! You don't know half of the story!"

"Well why don't you tell me then, sweetheart?" He asks lividly.

"Do you actually think that there has been a profit in coal? Even if there was, would the Capitol give that to us? Use your brain, Haymitch! Or at least what's left of it, considering you've drank it all away."

After my explanation, Haymitch still looks confused, "The people here are getting food because of me! Because of what I'm doing, no child is starving to death right now! So if you look at it my way, I'm helping people!"

"But you're hurting yourself."

"There is always a price to pay."

"I thought you were different, Madi." He says looking at the floor. I'm shocked that he called me by my nickname. I didn't know he still thought of us being close. I can't really tell if he's been drinking or not.

"Different? What do you mean different? I'm helping my community."

"By demeaning yourself! Don't you get it, Madi? Snow doesn't give a damn about our _community!_ He doesn't give a damn about you! All he wants to do is make the Capitol people happy, and he's willing to push people down to get what he wants! He's _using you_! He's trying to make you think you're helping, but in actuality, you're just a piece in his games and you're too brainwashed to see it."

I don't know what to say to him after this. Could he be right? Snow isn't exactly known for his kindness of heart…

"But he's actually giving food to people…" I can't make eye contact with him. Not when I know he's right.

Haymitch takes his hand and grabs my face so I'm looking at him. "Because he wants you to play along, sweetheart. He'll keep giving them food until you're convinced he's good. Then he'll play you like a deck of cards and soon enough, you won't have a say in anything."

"But he's still giving them food…" For some reason, I can't shake the fact that as long as my people are getting food, I'm doing a good thing.

Haymitch lets go of my face and sighs. I think he's got the gist that I'm not going to stop. "I know I can't stop you, Madigan. You'll do what you think is right, and I don't have a say in your opinions, but I want you to know, that when you're ready to stop and you realize that what you're doing is wrong… I'll always be here. Because we Victors got to stick together."

I don't know how I didn't realize it before, but I'm crying. Haymitch wipes a tear from my face, stands up and kisses me on the cheek. I stand up too, and walk back to my house.

I wake up the next morning and feel like I'm being stabbed in the chest. Reaping Day. I go to my closet, pick out the plainest, simplest dress I can find and get ready for the day.

As I'm walking out the door, I see Haymitch walking my way, "I was just about to get you, love!" He exclaims in his drunken drawl. I suddenly wish I was a little hazed for this too.

At the ceremony, I can't help but notice how many things have changed in the past year. Last year, I was sitting down there, praying my name wouldn't be called. If it wasn't called, I would have been safe. What if I hadn't been called? All of my family would still be alive, that's for sure… I probably would have been married, though, just because that what happens here… Gosh, looking at the other girls my age, I might have had a baby on the way as well!

But looking at those girls, I felt a strange feeling. I couldn't put my finger on what it was, though… I'll have to think about that one.

Our two tributes are called, Emmie Vance and Phil Mifflin. Looking at them, I suddenly see their deaths before it happens. Emmie is young, and I imagine her being shot by an arrow, just like Jared. In Phil's death, for some strange reason, I slit his throat. I jump a little at what just went on in my brain, and then I see Haymitch is staring at me.

"Are you okay?" He whispers to me. I guess he has some sobriety today. I nod at him and we're thrown into the train. I almost walk to the Justice Building. I guess I'm in one giant flashback of last year.

After dinner and learning about our tributes, Haymitch and I are sitting on the couch. We're supposed to be discussing our new tributes, but we're saying nothing and thinking the very same thing. _They're both going to die. _

"Did you think the same thing about me last year?" I suddenly ask Haymitch.

"Think what?"

"That I was going to die."

"Yes."

"Because right now, all I'm thinking about is how District 12 is about to lose two innocent children."

"You get used to it. And hey, you're still a kid too, if you haven't noticed." I can tell he really wants a drink right now because he just looked at the coffee table half-expecting a drink to be there.

"Oh, I wouldn't count on it. Did you see girls my age were pregnant?" I asked, still shocked at how many girls I could point out.

Haymitch nods. "It weird how people live in District 12. Not that I'd rather live like the Capitol or anything, but we still have a lot of figuring out to do."

"Is it bad that… well… that I'm glad I'm not one of those girls? That I'm glad I don't have to get married yet or do anything that girls in District 12 have to do?"

"There's the Madi I know," Haymitch responds. I give him a quizzical look. "The Madi that only wants to do things her way. The Madi that doesn't see things in black in white, but is smart enough to realize that there are shades of grey in the world. The Madi that wouldn't do anything to compromise herself, even though compromising herself could help people."

I know that last comment is about me sleeping with Capitol members, but I don't feel like bringing it up. He gives me a weak little smile, and the least I can do is return it. He's only trying to make me see what's right.

I do know that what I'm doing is wrong, I'm smart enough to see that, but it _is helping people._

I just need to keep telling myself that.

**A/N: I PINKY SWEAR TO ALWAYS WRITE! I really feel super bad, guys. I seriously can't remember the last time I wrote for this story, and this is a good story! **

**So… review… if you don't hate me…**


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